Are Investors Really Enjoying Capital Appreciation and Rental Returns?

According to the latest HSBC Global Entrepreneurial Wealth Report 2025, Singapore, the UK and Switzerland rank as the top destinations for the world’s super-rich to send their money.

Singapore leads the pack, cementing its reputation as a global hub for entrepreneurial wealth and relocation. The study surveyed 3,000 entrepreneurs across 15 markets, and the city-state emerged as the standout choice for wealth preservation and growth.

The UK: Rising Rents, Shrinking Supply

But what about the UK market? Are landlords benefitting from these money flows?

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that new rental listings plunged to minus 37 in August — the lowest since April 2020, when Covid froze the economy. With demand far outstripping supply, rents are forecast to rise another three percent over the next year.

The numbers are stark: official data shows rents have jumped 30 percent in just four years. In London, tenants now pay an average of GBP 2,250 (SGD 3,904) per month, piling on more cost-of-living pressure. What’s behind this? A landlord exodus. Government legislation tilted towards renters has pushed many owners to sell, further reducing rental stock and driving prices higher.

In short, tenants lose, but the remaining landlords are enjoying fatter returns.

Could the Same Happen in Singapore?

Singapore is different, but parallels exist. The world’s steepest property tax on foreign buyers — a 60% Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) — has effectively excluded foreigners from the residential market. That leaves citizens and permanent residents as the primary players.

This exclusion keeps prices in check relative to other wealth hubs such as Hong Kong, London, Monaco, and Zurich. But it also limits rental supply. Fewer investors mean fewer rental units — and that helps drive rents higher for locals who own property.

Indeed, Singapore’s rental prices have been climbing steadily. And while one could argue that lower barriers for foreign buyers might have fueled even higher property values and rents, for now, the beneficiaries are clearly the local landlords.

Global Property Dynamics

The latest Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index confirms the shifting landscape.

• Tokyo surged with 8.8 percent growth in H1 2025, powered by a chronic shortage of new supply and strong demand. Forecasts call for another 6 percent –7.9 percent rise in the second half of the year.
• Berlin, Dubai, and Seoul each posted growth above 5 percent, supported by tight supply pipelines and resilient sentiment.
• Lifestyle cities such as Amsterdam, Cape Town, Lisbon, and Sydney also gained, buoyed by their enduring appeal to global buyers.
• Hong Kong struggled, with a 3.5 percent drop in H1 2025 amid policy uncertainty and already sky-high pricing. Still, it remains the world’s most expensive market, averaging US$3,720 per square foot.

Singapore: Safe Haven Currency, Unique Market

The currency story matters too. Julius Baer notes that the Singapore dollar, along with the Swiss franc, is the only major currency to consistently deliver positive returns against the US dollar over 10, 20, and 30 years. Since 2000, the SGD has risen 29.3 percent versus the USD — the strongest in Asia.

This makes Singapore both a property and currency haven. But the residential market here is unlike any other. The ABSD creates a fortress, keeping international speculative capital out and leaving long-term value creation to locals and PRs.

Where Should Investors Look?

With capital values projected to rise just 1.5 percent in H2 2025, the real opportunities lie in the secondary market, where older prime condos offer:

• Larger layouts
• Lower density
• Scarcer locations

For eligible buyers — Singaporeans, PRs, and exempt nationalities such as Americans and Swiss — these properties represent strong value and upside, especially given the en bloc potential in prime locations.

Take Orchard Road: around Cairnhill, rare gems like The Edge on Cairnhill by starchitect Moshe Safdie (of Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi fame) trade below SGD 2,700 psf. That’s far more attractive than smaller, less central new launches.

Or Tanglin: St. Regis Residences — 999-year leasehold, with elegant grounds and concierge services — can be found at just SGD 2,800 psf. That’s a bargain compared to many newer but less distinguished projects. Nearby, The Tomlinsontrades even lower, though without the same brand cachet.

Final Take

In a world of currency volatility, supply squeezes, and shifting policy, Singapore stands out. With limited land, strong domestic demand, and a rock-solid currency, property here continues to serve as one of the best long-term value preservation assets. For those eligible to buy, the secondary market in prime districts remains the smartest play — combining heritage, space, and long-term appreciation.

This opinion piece was written by luxury expert Alex Shlaen

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Lovers meeting at midnight on a bridge. Ballerinas are poised in the wings before their performance. A fairy perched delicately on a cloud. These are not scenes from the theatre or the opera — they are the ticking heartbeats of Van Cleef & Arpels timepieces.

This is a Maison that does not merely construct watches. It composes fairytales. Each timepiece is written in the language of rare crafting techniques such as enamel, miniature painting and engraving, all underpinned by extraordinary mechanical artistry. 

Ever since its foundation – following Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels’s wedding in 1895 – emotion, craftmanship and storytelling have been the soul of the brand.

Love is more than a theme for Van Cleef & Arpels; it is a cornerstone. The first piece the Maison ever sold was a diamond heart. And more than a century later, that spirit of enchantment and poetry endures in its most iconic horological collection: Poetic Complications.

“Each of our creations starts with a story,” says Pascal Narbeburu, Timepieces Métiers Director at Van Cleef & Arpels. When the Poetic Complications collection was launched in 2006, it turned traditional watchmaking over its head. Instead of privileging technical prowess for its own sake, here, emotion, craftsmanship and storytelling become the driving force of the watch, while animations, complications and métiers d’art all come together to paint a vivid picture of romance and poetry. 

Each watch takes up to 5 to 10 years of research and development. It is hardly surprising, then, that throughout the years Van Cleef & Arpels has received 15 awards (eight of them for the Poetic Complications) at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. 

Time to Romance

One of the most emblematic watches embodying the Van Cleef & Arpels spirit is the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux. Launched 15 years ago, it features two lovers standing on opposite sides of a bridge, waiting for their reunion. 

Beyond the charming narrative is an ingenious technical feat: she moves with the passing hours; he climbs more quickly, in line with the minutes, to meet her at 12 o’clock. There, they share a kiss lasting a magical three minutes before a retrograde mechanism returns them to their respective places. Since 2019, an on-demand animation triggered by a push-button allows the wearer to replay the scene at will. 

The lovers have returned in various guises over the years. For 2025, Van Cleef & Arpels has brought back the couple in two iterations: the first is a series of four watches where they make a date to rendezvous at the bridge at different times of the day. Then, there is the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate watch, where they waltz on the cobblestoned streets of Paris.  

Embodying the very essence of Van Cleef & Arpels’ identity, this collection remains a cornerstone of the brand’s horological storytelling, still highly sought-after by collectors and emblematic of timeless design.

“We have our own vision of time which stays very consistent through the years” says Narbeburu. “That is one of the reasons why the Poetic Complications watches we have created since 2006 are timeless. It is like taking a classic from your bookshelf and reading it to your children. A story never gets old.”

The latest Pont des Amoureux creations for 2025 meld a multitude of artisanal techniques and mechanical feats, showcasing the Maison’s ever-evolving mastery. Narbeburu notes that
Van Cleef & Arpels has been steadily developing its in-house capabilities, especially for mechanisms that serve the storytelling aspect of the Poetic Complications collection. As a result, the Maison is able to develop, assemble and do quality control for its complications in-house. This allows designers, engineers, watchmakers and artisans to create embodiments of the Van Cleef & Arpels watchmaking philosophy; the movements they craft are mechanically ambitious yet always elegant, with decorative techniques applied that serve a narrative purpose. The watchmaking team demonstrates technical finesse in creating advanced complications in the most compact way possible. This is necessary so that the movements can fit in ergonomically optimised cases, making the watches suitable for everyday wear.

From Day to Night 

Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Soirée (left) & Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Aube (right)

For 2025, the Maison depicts the lovers meeting at different moments of the day, namely dawn, morning, dusk, and moonlight. The dials are a sight to behold, crafted using the coloured grisaille enamel technique. A palette of delicate watercolours depicts the city at various points during the day and night. During sunrise, the rays of the sun permeate through the buildings in a radiant burst of yellows, oranges, purples and pinks, while the sky shimmers in a gradient kaleidoscope of purples, pinks and oranges as the sun sets. 

To achieve this effect, the craftsman fires each dial around 10 times in the oven, a complex endeavour that captures every nuance and detail of the sky. Each dial takes about 40 hours to create. The scene continues on the caseback, with a sculpted gold case and an enamel decal – making for a true work of art. 

Dancing Under the Stars

The lovers continue their romantic sojourn, off the bridge and on to the cobbled streets of Paris. Inspired by the open-air dance cafes of the 19th century, they lean into each other for a kiss at noon and midnight. However, the Maison pushed the envelope even further for the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate, as the two lovers lower their linked arms in harmony – this seemingly simple gesture took
Van Cleef & Arpels four years to perfect, so the movement appears natural, fluid and graceful. 

The scene is ebullient, with a smattering of stars, lanterns and fairy lights evoking an idyllic night out, while two stars indicate the time on the retrograde counter. One of the biggest challenges, says Narbeburu, was to combine all the Maison’s narrative elements inside the limited space of a case. “This watch is almost three-dimensional. On the dial, there are five different layers, including the clouds, the buildings, the figures, and we had to make sure that the watch remained thin.”

This dial requires over 40 hours of work, created using two enamel techniques: the ancient and highly complex grisaille and coloured grisaille, a technique created in-house, so the background is almost hypnotic in its chiaroscuro effect. 

When the Stars Align

What could be more romantic than stargazing with someone you love? For Van Cleef & Arpels, the sky is not the limit, it is a canvas. While many brands have explored astronomical complications, calculating tides and celestial positions with scientific precision, Van Cleef & Arpels’ goal is more emotive: to bring the heavens to the wrist. 

Technical innovation meets artistic ingenuity within the Lady Arpels Planétarium. The beauty lies in the astronomical mechanism, which can track the movement of planets around the dial. It all fits within a 38mm case, making it truly a work of wonder

The Lady Arpels Planétarium watch is a perfect representation of this vision. Set on a dial of deep blue aventurine glass, which shimmers like a night sky, it features seven concentric rings that chart the real-time movement of the planets. Each orb is crafted in a different, exquisite material: Venus in green enamel, Earth in turquoise, Mercury in pink mother-of-pearl, the Sun in sculpted gold, and the Moon as a diamond, which itself revolves around the Earth in 29.5 days. A golden shooting star encircles the dial every 12 hours, pointing to the current time, a touch that adds just the right celestial flair to the timepiece. 

When Horology Meets Horticulture  

In a magical garden, flowers bloom and close, marking each passing hour. In the hands of
Van Cleef & Arpels, nature is captured in a rich and vivid tableau.

The Lady Arpels watch serves as a canvas, allowing Van Cleef & Arpels’ artisans to pay homage to their perennial muse, nature, in all its boundless beauty and bounty. Among the highlights are the Lady Arpels Heures Florales timepieces, offered in two variations and colours, inspired by the 1751 work Philosophia Botanica by Swedish botanist Carl von Linné. In his book, Linné imagined a garden whose flowers opened and closed to reveal the time.

The Lady Arpels Heures Florales timepieces bring this dream to life with a miniature garden where blossoms unfurl to display the hours, offering a delightful surprise as the next flowers to bloom remain a mystery. 

Demonstrating how the team takes a hands-on role for every watch and is constantly pushing boundaries, Narbeburu reveals that they went through a demanding creative process that involved all production teams working on several iterations, each time incorporating an elevated touch of “magic” to the creation.  

One of the “magical” aspects of the garden is that the blooming of the flowers appears completely random. “In the morning, one flower might bloom to indicate 1am; in the afternoon, it will be a different flower; and the morning of the next day, yet another one,” explains Narbeburu. “So, we have three cycles that give the impression of randomness.” 

The minutes are indicated on a lateral band on the case middle, allowing time to be read discreetly. Though poetic and gentle in its expression, the mechanism is a marvel of engineering, representing five years of innovation from concept to creation.

Summer Breeze

The winner of the Prestigious Ladies’ Complication Prize at the 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, the Lady Arpels Brise d’Été watch evokes the lightness of a summer breeze, surrounded by nature. With this piece, Van Cleef & Arpels showcases its mastery of a wide range of artistic crafts, combining techniques such as gem-setting, plique-à-jour, and vallonné enamel. These methods act like brushstrokes painting a vivid landscape: the butterfly wings and blades of grass are rendered in delicate plique-à-jour enamel, giving them a translucent quality, while the flower petals — crafted in vallonné enamel — have a domed, luscious finish.

Each blossom is adorned with spessartite garnets, and the garden shimmers with vibrant green tsavorites. Completing this enchanting tableau, wildflowers gently sway in the summer breeze, while two butterflies gracefully circle the dial to indicate the hours and minutes. Pressing the pusher at 8 o’clock sets their elegant dance in motion.

Fairy Dust

At Van Cleef & Arpels, Haute Joaillerie and Haute Horlogerie often collide, as they are complementary. 

Left: Lady Féerie; Right: Lady Féerie Or Rose 

A familiar figure in the universe of Van Cleef & Arpels, the fairy is a recurring muse, a symbol of lightness, hope and benevolence. She first fluttered into the Maison’s world in the 1940s as a sculpted, gem-set clip. Today, she reappears in the Lady Féerie watch, perched gracefully on a cloud, her wand delicately commanding the minutes.

Left: Lady Féerie Or Rose ; Right: The caseback of the Lady Féerie Or Rose

Her form is sculpted in gold, and she wears a sapphire- and diamond-studded tutu. Her wings are made of turquoise plique-à-jour enamel, while the dial is crafted in guilloché mother-of-pearl. 

A Perfect Dance

Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Rubis (left) and Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Émeraude (right)

Van Cleef & Arpels has long been both passionate about the arts, and inspired by it, with an affinity for dance. It started with Louis Arpels, a member of the founding family of the Maison, who would often attend the ballet with his nephew Claude in tow. This passion eventually took form in the iconic ballerina clips of the 1940s, pieces that remain beloved to this day.

The Maison continues to dance its way into our hearts with a series of three timepieces, the Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales watches, which uses gem-setting, miniature painting and a complex animation and a mechanism that combines a music box and a chime to create a sensorial spectacle. Available in a series of three, each iteration, the Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Émeraude watch with its green tones, Rubis in red, and finally Diamant in blue, pays homage to the three acts in Jewels. Famously, ballet choreographer George Balanchine developed Jewels in the 1960s following an encounter with Claude Arpels, with whom he shared a passion for gemstones.

Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Emeraude

The details of the watch are truly exquisite, from the dramatic folds of the curtain that parts to the revealed hand-painted dancing ballerinas. They pirouette onto the stage, to the tune of the music.  Unlike a minute repeater, this musical box can play a range of notes. Miniaturising this engineering marvel into a wristwatch was truly an extraordinary feat, one that was 10 years in the making.

This being Van Cleef & Arpels, the diamonds on the front of the case emulate the chandelier of a stage and those on the case middle give the impression of curtains – a demand that made the architecture even more challenging, as they muffled the sound, requiring masterful engineering to preserve both the watch’s beauty and its musical clarity.

Curtain call

Van Cleef & Arpels redefines the function of time with its Poetic Complications collection, watches where technical prowess is at the service of the story. As Narbeburu reminds us, “The story is at the center of the creation; mechanics and métiers d’art allow us to tell it.” 

Here, time pauses for a kiss on a bridge or the blooming of flowers in a garden. Blending mechanical ingenuity with artistic craftsmanship, these pieces reflect the spirit of Van Cleef & Arpels, from its inception more than a century ago; it continues to shape the Maison’s unique approach to watchmaking.

“We have our own vision of time which stays very consistent through the years. That is one of the reasons why the Poetic Complications watches we have created since 2006 are timeless. It is like taking a classic from your bookshelf and reading it to your children. A story never gets old.”
– Pascal Naberburu, Timepieces Métiers Director at Van Cleef & Arpels​

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When Bonhams announced its partnership with Burgundy’s Edouard Delaunay for “Jubilant Revival in Burgundy: Maison Edouard Delaunay Ex-Domaine – Finest & Rarest Wines”, it marked so much more than a milestone auction. It also represented a shift in how fine wines are released, authenticated and collected. Running online from 5 to 27 November 2025, the sale features 68 exceptional lots sourced directly from the Delaunay family’s private cellar — bottles that have never left their home at Château de Charmont until now.

Founded in 1893 and revived in 2017 under fifth-generation winemaker Laurent Delaunay, the Maison has become a model of Burgundy’s modern renaissance, uniting heritage with technical mastery. LUXUO speaks to Laurent Delaunay, president of Edouard Delaunay, about the significance of this unprecedented collaboration with Bonhams, the evolution of Burgundy’s auction market and why provenance remains the ultimate benchmark of value in fine wine.

How unique – and extraordinary – is this association between Bonhams and Edouard Delaunay?

For us, it is both new and truly unique. This is the very first time that we have worked on such a project with a prestigious auction house of this calibre. Traditionally, wine auctions have focused on the secondary market — collectors or cellar owners reselling bottles they had previously purchased from producers or négociants. These sales confirmed that fine wine could be both a pleasure to share and a valuable investment.

In recent years, however, a new approach has emerged: auctions featuring wines released directly by the producers themselves, often bottles that have been carefully kept until they reached their ideal maturity and market interest. This is precisely what we are offering through this collaboration with Bonhams.

For wine lovers, the benefits are clear. Authenticity and provenance are fully guaranteed since these wines come directly from our own family cellar. They have never travelled, have always been stored in perfect conditions at our Château de Charmont in Burgundy, and are now released at their optimal drinking window. Although this approach is gaining traction, it remains rare. For us, this is a true première.

How important and knowledgeable are Burgundy wine lovers in the Far East?

Extremely. Alongside the USA and the UK, wine enthusiasts in the Far East are among the most passionate and knowledgeable in the world. Since relaunching our Burgundy winery in 2017, we have made this part of the world a priority — selecting the finest importers and distributors, spending time in the region to present our wines, and welcoming many Asian visitors to Château de Charmont, just outside Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Over the years, many of these encounters have evolved into genuine friendships. I am constantly impressed by the curiosity and deep understanding of Burgundy that our Asian friends display. On several occasions, they have even introduced me to fellow Burgundy producers I had not met before — which says a lot about their passion and network.

What will be the profile of the bidders at this special auction to be staged in Hong Kong?

Open-minded wine lovers and collectors — people who are eager to discover a different facet of Burgundy, one that reflects the spirit of an authentic family Maison they might not yet know. Burgundy is a fascinating and singular wine region where, even for seasoned connoisseurs, there is always more to explore: new names, forgotten appellations, hidden gems.

As the renowned wine critic Michel Bettane recently wrote, “This is no longer a renaissance, it is a masterful return to the forefront.”

And although the auction will be launched from Hong Kong, it will be accessible online to wine enthusiasts across the globe.

Do you expect some record-breaking numbers?

Not necessarily. We are fully aware of our current market positioning and we continue to build our reputation step by step. However, given the exceptional quality of our wines — which have been unanimously praised by critics and sommeliers alike — we are confident that their value and recognition will continue to grow over time.

This auction therefore, represents an ideal opportunity for discerning collectors to invest in our best wines while they remain attractively priced. Above all, it allows us to introduce Edouard Delaunay to a new audience of collectors, to strengthen our image, and to establish an initial benchmark within the auction world.

How will you assess whether the auction is a complete or partial success?

Together with Bonhams, we have set moderate guide price targets and will be pleased if they are reached or exceeded. But beyond the financial aspect, what truly matters to us is the level of interest and enthusiasm this event generates around Edouard Delaunay.

Are there other similar initiatives by Edouard Delaunay planned elsewhere in the world?

No. This will remain a unique initiative, with no plans to replicate it in the near future.

Head to bonhams.com for more information.

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